When rights and duties are indefinite, even men like Yao and Shun will become crooked and commit acts of wickedness,1 how much more then the mass of the people! This is the way in which wickedness and wrong-doing will be greatly stimulated, the ruler of men will be despoiled of his authority and power, will ruin his country and bring disaster upon the altar of the soil and grain.2

Now the former sages made writings and transmitted them to later generations, and it is necessary to accept these as authoritative, so that one may know what is conveyed by established terminology.3 Should they not be accepted as authoritative and should people discuss them according to ideas of their own mind, then until their death they will not succeed in understanding the terminology and its meaning. Therefore did the sages set up officers and officials for the laws and mandates, who should be authoritative in the empire, in order to define everyone's rights and duties, so that these being definite, the very crafty would become faithful and trustworthy, and the people would all become honest and guileless, each one restraining himself. For, indeed, the defining of everybody's rights and duties is the road that leads to orderly government, but the not defining of everybody's rights and duties is the road that leads to disorder. So where there is a tendency towards order, there cannot be

1 Wang suggests omitting.

2 i.e. his dynasty.

3

"

"name is here used in its wide sense of "terminology", i.e. the definition of all ethical, social and legal values, rights, duties and punishments.

* "master' ; used before with reference to the books of the ancients

disorder, and where there is a tendency towards disorder, there cannot be order. Indeed, where there is a tendency towards disorder and one governs it, the disorder will only increase, but where there is a tendency towards order and one governs it, there will be order. Therefore, the sage kings governed order and did not govern disorder.

2

Indeed, subtle and mysterious words, which have to be 14b pondered over, cause difficulty even to men of superior knowledge. There may be one case in ten millions, where the directing guidance of the law is not needed and yet it is correct in everything. Therefore, a sage governs the empire for the ten million cases. For, indeed, one should not make laws so that only the intelligent can understand them, for the people are not all intelligent, and one should not make laws so that only the men of talent can understand them, for the people are not all talented. Therefore, did the sages, in creating laws, make them clear and easy to understand and the terminology correct,5 so that stupid and wise, without exception, could understand them; and by setting

1 Here and in the following phrase should be, for which character cf. par. 24, p. 318, n. 1. Cf. also Han Fei-tzů, ch. 17, par. 40, p. 5, where the same saying occurs as a quotation.

2 Cf. par. 5,

p. 209.

for the second character, Wang suggests reading. Cf. Han Fei-tzǔ, ch. 19, par. 49: 所謂智者,微妙之言也, 微妙之言,上智之所難知也

"What is called wisdom are subtle and mysterious words; subtle and

mysterious words are difficult to understand, even for men of superior wisdom."

5

Lit. " plumbline and ink," i.e. rules or directions.

E; this is the great slogan of the Ming-chia, the "School of Terminologists".

up law officers and officers, presiding over the law, to be authoritative in the empire, prevented the people from falling into dangerous pitfalls. So the fact that when the sages established the empire, there were no victims of capital punishment, was not because capital punishment did not exist, but because the laws, which were applied, were clear and easy to understand. They set up law officers and government officials to be the authority, in order to guide them, and they knew that if the ten thousands of people ail knew what to avoid and what to strive for, they would avoid misfortune and strive for happiness, and so restrain themselves. Therefore, an intelligent prince follows the existing conditions of order and so makes the order complete, with the result that the empire will enjoy great order."

PARAGRAPH 27.

(Lost.)

PARAGRAPH 28.-
(Lost.)

PARAGRAPH 29.-
(Lost.)

CHINESE INDEX

References are to the chapter and folio of the Chinese edition (1876) of Yen Wan-li,
The Book of Lord Shang; the Chinese paging is indicated by the numerals in the
margin of this translation and the letters A and B refer to the recto and verso
sides respectively of the Chinese folio.